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Heartgard for Dogs at a Great Price
If there was ever a disease that was easy to catch, deadly, and common and preventing your dog against it could save your pet’s life, wouldn’t you take such preventative measures? This is what Heartgard for dog will do for your beloved pet.
Heartgard for dog is a preventative drug used to protect your pet against a deadly parasite called Dirofilaria immitis, or better known as heartworm. This treatment is highly efficient and can save your dog from the devastating damage that this parasite can do.
What is the heartworm disease?
The heartworm infection is a potentially fatal, serious condition in dogs. It is caused by adult parasites that breed on the right side of the dog’s heart. These worms also live in the large blood vessels that join the heart to the lungs. This infection is transmitted through an infected mosquito bite. This infection can attack dogs of all ages.
What are heartworms?
Heartworms are parasites, found in the digestive tract of a mosquito. When an infected mosquito bites your dog, the heartworm larvae pass from the tissue into your pet’s bloodstream. During the two months that it takes for this larva to reach the arteries of the lungs, this larva can be killed with the help of a preventative drug called Heartgard for dogs.
But if you do not take these preventative measures, the consequences can be both costly and deadly. After two months, these become young adult worm and start to cause damage. At this stage, these larvae become invulnerable to preventative drugs. In five months, these larvae become adults and can cause major heartache by plugging the main blood vessels and the heart. When the heart doesn't function properly, the dog starts showing signs of fatigue; thus ending in heart failure. The best thing to do is to keep your dog healthy by using preventatives like Heartgard regularly.
What is Heartgard?
Heartgard is a preventative medication that helps treat and control intestinal parasites such as hookworms and roundworms and prevents heartworms in dogs. With these delicious beef flavored chewable tablets, you can protect your pet from the potentially deadly heartworm disease. It is very easy to administer and is considered safe for puppies older than 6 weeks and for pregnant or breeding female dogs.
These chewable tablets are administered orally once a month. Heartworm infection is caused by the bite of an infected mosquito and the chance of such a thing happening is present all year round. That is why it is best to administer this medicine all year round to provide uninterrupted protection from various types of parasites. Make sure that your dog chews it completely. You can get this drug easily online without a vet’s prescription. However, it should remembered that Heartgard is not effective against tapeworms and whipworms.
Side effects of Heartgard
Heartgard is a very safe medicine although your pet may experience some mild side effects that can be due to the effects of the larva dying or could be to the drug itself. Continuous use of this preventative drug keeps the growth of larvae in the bloodstream under control, thus reducing the possibility of side effects. Some mild side effects that are caused by Heartgard are:
- Dilation of pupils
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Depression/lethargy
- Anorexia
- Convulsions
- Staggering
- Drooling
Studies have shown that Collie breed may be more sensitive to this drug. However, it is safe if taken according to the recommended dose.
Signs that your dog may be suffering from heartworms
If you haven’t been regular with your dose of Heartgard, then be on the lookout for signs that could indicate your pet has a heartworm infection. You will have to keep a close eye on your pet as it may take several months before your dog shows the following symptoms:
- Rapid breathing
- Coughing
- Difficulty in exercising
- Lack of energy
- Heavy breathing
- Fluid in the belly
- Fainting
Precautions
All dogs should have a blood test to make sure that they do not have an existing case of heartworm infection before starting the Heartgard treatment. Before starting this medicine, visit your vet to make sure that your dog does not have a heartworm infection. Your vet will run a blood test. If it comes back positive, then the vet will run a second test to confirm the diagnosis.
Heartgard Plus is ineffective against adult heartworms. If your dog has a heartworm infection, he should be treated to remove microfilariae and adult heartworms before starting the Heartgard Plus treatment.
How is heartworm treated?
The treatment for heartworm infection is dangerous and difficult for your pet that is why vets usually make sure that the dog is in the best possible physical condition before beginning the treatment. If your dog shows signs of heart disease, your vet will prescribe medicines to support the heart so that it is capable of dealing with the problem of dying worms passing through it. Your vet may prescribe a long course of antibiotics to fight the bacteria that heartworms carry. After two months, your pet will be prescribed steroids to make him better able to deal with the next stage of treatment in which he will be given medicinal injections over a period of six weeks.
The treatment for heartworm infection is expensive, long, and arduous. Sometimes, complications such as pneumonia occur as a result of this treatment which is why it is important for the vet to monitor and supervise your pet carefully.
Why is Heartgard essential for your dog?
If you love your pet, which you surely do, and want to avoid putting him through the trauma of treatment, then you should make sure to give your dog Heartgard regularly as a preventative measure against heartworms. Start using this medication monthly from 6 weeks of age and continue for life. Heartgard interferes with the nervous system of the heartworm larva which is why it is often prescribed for infected dogs to stop further growth. If you want to safeguard your beloved pet against this deadly infection, then make sure that there are no gaps in dosage the whole year around
